This invention relates to the art of containers for fluid dispensers and, more particularly, to a container for oil to be dispensed onto a workpiece in metal working machinery such as pipe threaders.
Portable oil dispensers have been provided heretofore for use with pipe threading apparatus, for example. One such oil dispenser has been available from the Ridge Tool Company of Elyria, Ohio under the latter's product designation No. 418 Oiler, comprising a bucket providing a reservoir for thread cutting oil, a drip pan removably mounted on the bucket for receiving chips and oil from the thread cutting apparatus and separating the oil for return to the reservoir area in the bucket, and a handheld trigger operated pump connected to the bucket by a flexible hose and operable by a threading machine operator to dispense oil onto a workpiece being threaded. The initial version of the 418 Oiler, and others currently on the market which are similar thereto, include a round, flat bottom metal bucket and a metal drip pan removably mounted on the rim of the bucket by a plurality of over-center latches having bases spot welded on the bucket. Further, the latter is provided with a bail having its opposite ends pivotally associated with bail mounting supports which are welded to the bucket. The drip pan in the earlier version of the 418 Oiler includes a pair of handles welded thereon for lifting the pan from the bucket, and the bulkhead fitting for connecting the hose to the bucket is mounted on the arcuate sidewall of the bucket and has a discharge opening extending vertically and to which the pump hose is attached. In a later version of the 418 Oiler, the metal drip pan is replaced by a plastic pan which is removably mounted on the bucket through the use of the existing latches and which has integral handles for lifting the pan from the bucket.
While oilers of the foregoing character serve their intended purpose, there are a number of disadvantages attendant to the structure and use thereof. In this respect, for example, the number of parts and the necessary assembly operations with respect thereto make the cost and the weight thereof undesirably high. Moreover, during use, the pump hose is often used to pull the bucket and pan assembly from one location to another along the underlying floor or other support surface, and the frictional engagement between the surface and the flat bottom of the bucket makes the sliding movement difficult. Further in this respect, the flat bottom bucket contour requires maintaining an excessive quantity of oil in the bucket for continuous operation of the oiler, and the weight of the oil adds to the difficulty with respect to sliding the oiler across the underlying surface. Still further, the vertical disposition of the hose at the outlet of the bulkhead fitting results in the imposition of side forces and bending of the hose at the fitting when the hose is used to pull the oiler. Ultimately, this causes fracture of the hose requiring replacement thereof. Moreover, using a plastic drip pan with the latch arrangement used for metal pans results in deterioration of the plastic and thus the latched interengagement of the pan with the bucket, whereby the pan becomes loose. This looseness promotes instability with respect to pan retention should the oiler be dropped during transportation, or turned over during use, and promotes a decrease in the seal between the bucket and pan which can result in leakage of oil during use, transportation or storage of the oiler.